In a nutshell, I highly recommend this CD. Even if you have never seen the show on stage,
it should not hinder your enjoyment. I never seen the show live (though I've always wanted to) and
the plot is still very clear and understandable.

Songs like "One Night in Bangkok" and "The
Arbiter" will have you tapping your feet (or even dancing round the room) and those like "Pity the
Child" and "I Know Him So Well" may even reduce you to tears.

All in all, an excellent display of
talent and as I said, one I'd recommend v.v.v.highly to anyone with a love of music. :)

However,
I believe it is a very underrated musical, certainly on hearing it for myself(I have yet to see it
on stage, for I'm only 20 and thereby too young to have been able to see it initially). I think part
of the problem with critics is that they may have thought that because Andersson and Ulvaeus were
from Abba, they expected "Chess" to be like Abba's music. And let's face it, if you don't like
Abba's music in the first place, you're not going to take projects like this seriously, are
you?

To counter the critics- it needs to be emphasised that this was intended to go beyond Abba,
even if Andersson and Ulvaeus' roots obviously lay there. Sure, there are the classic pop songs-
most notably "One Night in Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well"- and both are very good songs. But
there is SO much more to Ulvaeus and Andersson's composing than pop- within Chess there is some
amazing orchestration(e.g. "Merano", "Chess", "Endgame") that shows their talents as composers.
There is also a vast range of songs within the musical- solos, duets, trios, even quartets- which
further highlight the versatility of the Swedish duo.

As for lyrics, Tim Rice is able to veer
between the humourously sarcastic (Take "One Night in Bangkok", "Where I Want to Be") and the
touchingly poignant ("I Know Him So Well", "Heaven Help My Heart"). That takes some skill to do
that- and much as he had done before with "Cats", "Evita" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" Tim Rice
manages to strike gold here with his creativity.

Without doubt, any musical which combines an
intellectual board game, the Cold War and a complicated love story would be a massive gamble to
take, given that chess and politics are not renowned for being sexy. Yet superb music and a mix of
witty oneliners and powerful ballads combined to produce a musical of masterful genius. In my view,
the 3 best bits on the OST album are:

1) "One Night in Bangkok"- okay, probably the corniest song
in the musical, but the American's lyrics are incredibly acerbic, and the chorus sticks in the head!

2) "I Know Him So Well"- an absolutely beautiful, flawless song. Think Abba at their best
combined with wonderfully elegant yet poignant lyrics by Rice. Elaine Paige and Barbra Dickson
really could not have sung that song better, though.
3)"Opening Ceremony (Arbiter's Song)"-
superb rock song, and incredibly catchy beat and lyrics. Plus Bjorn Skifs is a fantastic singer, if
you've heard "Hooked On A feeling" by Blue Swede from "Reservoir Dogs" you will know what I mean.

Overall, this is a superb project, and one that showed that the guys from Abba were in fact
accomplished musicians(indeed, working with Tim Rice would have boosted their credibility in any
case). However, it needs to be said that this is very underrated by many. Okay, there are a few
moments where the music "could" be considered to be cheesy pop, but for the most part this is
sophisticated music that is wider ranging than what Abba achieved. It's just a pity I probably won't
be able to see this musical!